popular wisdom
What everyone believes
Popular wisdom is the body of beliefs, advice, and assumptions widely held by ordinary people—what "everyone knows" to be true.
It often takes the form of proverbs, folk sayings, or conventional thinking: Popular wisdom holds that you should wait an hour after eating before swimming.
The phrase can be neutral or slightly dismissive, implying that common belief may not withstand scrutiny: Contrary to popular wisdom, cracking your knuckles doesn't cause arthritis.
- old wives' taleUnfounded traditional belief
- old sayingTime-tested expression of wisdom
- home remedyHomemade medical treatment
- common senseNative practical judgment
- common knowledgeWidely shared information
aphorism · gut feeling · etiquette · truism · moral code · custom · unwritten rule · tacit knowledge · folklore · platitude · word to the wise · life lesson · tried and true · maxim · tradition · adage · superstition · hunch
popular wisdomexpert analysis
Skilled examination of evidence
expert opinion · academic research · specialized knowledge · scientific consensus · scientific knowledge
popular wisdomesoteric knowledge
Understanding restricted to initiates
arcane knowledge · technical jargon · privileged information · trade secrets
popular, wisdom, popularly, popularity, popularize, popularization, unpopular, populace, population